


Never Again Mentioned

by orphan_account



Category: Discworld - Pratchett
Genre: Community: femslash100, F/F, Ficlet, POV Third Person, Past Tense, Pre-Canon, Witches, Wordcount: 100-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-25
Updated: 2007-04-25
Packaged: 2017-10-09 03:29:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/82535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account





	Never Again Mentioned

No-one ever said witching would be easy. Gytha rather expected it, and didn't complain when called to it. The rewards were worth it. Her busybody soul was satisfied that a year out of her apprenticeship she already knew all of Lancre's little secrets.

Even so, she drank more as the secrets piled up. Drink made life seem pleasant; so did men. She'd always liked them, or sex, at least. She knew all those kinds of secrets too.

Esme was a crone already as a girl – no liquor for her, nor any men. (Gytha knew all of Esme's secrets too. Gytha's parents were positive sweethearts compared to hers; then again, so were almost anyone's.)

Esme seethed with strength, ready for every foe. She never gave an inch. Maybe that's what Gytha yearned in Esme, why she liked her so damn much; Gytha's too mellow sometimes, and Esme too hard; together, they might learn to be resilient instead.

One night before Hogswatch week young Gytha put liquor into Esme, to test this. Neither of them ever spoke of it again, and neither of them ever forgot.

Gytha remembers it vividly sometimes, usually late at night. Horrible, and beautiful: Esme losing control, Esme crying, Esme grasping her, and herself so drunk she'd kissed Esme, like men and women kiss, like she rarely jokes about even in old age because it's too close to home, and because of Esme.

Resilience is made of a mosaic of strengths – that's why there are always three witches.


End file.
